Tuesday, July 11, 2017

What a difference a school district and a state line make. It's a whole nuther world west of State Line in Johnson County, Kansas.

The big debate: White v. Black, Amazon Echo or the junior version, Dot.A so-called speaker that is not even stereo!But it's a robot! Just say, Alexa--and boss it around!

Poor KCMO citizens, especially the ones in Hyde Park --too close to Troost. Rampant crime. Not just black on black crime, now it's agressive confrontation and stealing of cars and beating up husbands walking their dogs. By young hoodlums who cannot get a job at $7.75, let alone the $15 minimum wage that Tonyskansascity.com is lobbying for.

Meanwhile, folks in Johnson County are living an idyllic life. Especially today. Shopping shopping shopping the 10,000 discounted items today on Amazon Prime. Including their elite home robot device, the Echo. (Or the junior edition, the Dot. Which comes with pastel themed skins to add a je ne sais quo to one's decor.)

Personally, I'm not buying Jeff Bezos' Amazon Echo. For today's Prime Day price of $89, vs. $149 regular. It's a speaker that is not even stereo. I'm also not buying the rival product you can't find on Amazon (isn't that restraint of trade? Oh well, it's hot and I'm too tired to protest that) the Google Home.

I'm not saying "Alexa, do this". I'm also not saying "OK Google, do that." I am too busy to have a robot. Especially to tell it to turn on a light. Or change the music. Or look up a recipe, and even reread the last step. I'm from Iowa. I'll just walk over and do those things myself. I especially refuse to spend $40 per lamp or other robot-controlled device to get the interface.

Wonder and Clue. Petite miniature goldendoodles. They
do not turn on lamps, change the Pandora or love Alexa.
If an Amazon Echo entered the home, they would pee on it.

And "Wonder, stop peeking off the deck. Stop barking at those dogs who get walked by our neighbors who had to take a Valium and get out of the house because they were on hold for three hours with Tech Support at Amazon Echo. Enjoy your deck and our wonderful yard. I've told you a million times, we are not walking people."

Robots will be alot of trouble to train. Almost as hard as puppies. But mark my words, if the citizens of Missouri approve a $15 an hour minimum wage, that will be the greatest boon to economic development in the history of Kansas. Businesses will swarm to Johnson County.

Heck, it's well known that most CEO's no longer live in KCMO. They moved away from the crime. Ray Kowalik --the Burns and McDonnell CEO who falsely brands himself as a "hometown boy" and who wants to build "the new smaller billion dollar 35 gate KCI" and pocket the additional $140 million in private bond funds for himself, Michael Merriman of Americo Life, and their Burns and Mac buddies--Ray lives in Lee's Summit. The late Neil Patterson of Cerner, who died this week, didn't even live in Jackson County--he held court at Loch Lloyd in Cass County.

And you know what? I bet Ray and Neil both had an Amazon Echo in their cigar-smoke filled living rooms.

Not me. If I get bored, and need to order someone around, I will just put on my French maid's apron and pay myself $15 an hour out of my piggy bank, to turn on my own lamps.

Friday, July 7, 2017

Behind the scenes, Southwest Airlines may pull a Love Field strategy in metro KC. Land their planes in Johnson County, and forget all about MCI in KCMO. (Southwest does not fly out of Dallas/Ft Worth's "main" airport, they have Love Field. Nor do they fly out of O'Hare in Chicago. They use Midway.)

Gardner Municipal Airport in Joco. Closer. Cheaper.
Faster than 75% of Southwest's passengers wasting 45 minutes each way to go to KCI. Future home of Southwest Airlines.And building their own terminal in Joco would cost "peanuts" compared to KCI!!!

Every prudent business has backup plans. Southwest, being an innovator and cost-conscious, and serving THEIR key market, which is the 75% of all passengers who live and or work in Johnson County, is no different.

What will the CEO of Southwest airlines, Gary C. Kelly, do? Sure, he writes a few nice letters to KC Aviation Department to keep them happy. But they are not legal commitments! Meanwhile....since Sly James and the KCMO Council are dithering--and teasing with Burns & Mac....

Gary C. Kelly is the chief executive officer and chairman of Southwest Airlines.
He first joined the company in 1986 as Controller. In 1989,
Kelly was promoted to Chief Financial Officer and Vice President of Finance.

What about the leaders of the Kansas Senate and the Kansas House? Nick Jordan,
the Ks. Director of Revenue? Jordan is DESPERATE to bring in some new revenues.

What about Acting Director Antonio Soave, Director of the Kansas Department of Commerce? Landing Southwest Airlines in Kansas would be the plum of his career.

And finally, gubernatorial hopeful with the biggest ego in the state, Kris Kobach? Rather than a white horse, he would so love to ride into office on a white jet.

The KC Star is obsessed with financing Kansas schools this fall, definitely a great distraction. Especially for a newspaper that has NO local reporters, no full time STATE reporters, and one pock-faced has-been who-cares-what-he-thinks columnist (named after a thorny flower).

The STAR is so Missouri-centric, they don't even consider what a superlative option this is. To them, it's all about KCI. They still actually hold to the old wives tale that it is an "international" airport!

And has our Johnson County Teleprompter in Chief, BOCC Chairman Ed Eilert, made Southwest an insider deal like he made for his investment buddies at King Louie??? Don't count our wooden Indian, Ed, out. He can read his marching orders from a cue card with the best of 'em. Mister Ed can play the same game as Sly James--give the bond sales to private investors, paying 2% more per year to borrow money, rather than issue Airport Revenue Bonds.

If Google Maps went offline, the STAR could not dispatch a courier to even FIND the Johnson County Board of Commissioners in Olathe unless someone left a trail of bread crumbs for them to follow. Or they hailed an Uber.
(With the exception of Steve Vockrodt, their utility outfielder who lives halfway to Lawrence, so he knows the proper exit. But he can't cover EVERY beat!)